The present invention relates to the field of sports equipment, and, more particularly, to lacrosse sticks.
Lacrosse is an ancient game that originated with the Native Americans in North America, particularly in the northeastern United States and Canada. Traditionally, lacrosse sticks were made of wood, usually hickory or ash, and were one integrated piece of equipment. The lacrosse sticks were handcrafted and varied in strength, weight, feel, and balance in the player's hands. These wooden handles were susceptible to breakage, were heavy, and had inconsistent quality, which proved disadvantageous in both playability and safety. Because the shafts and the lacrosse stick head were one integrated piece of equipment, if the shaft broke, the entire stick had to be replaced.
Molded plastic lacrosse stick head, developed in 1967, revolutionized the sport of lacrosse. Molded plastic (disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,495) allowed lacrosse sticks to be mass produced with consistent quality and shape. Wood shafts continued to be used, although they were still susceptible to breakage and were heavy.
In the 1970s, shafts of metallic construction, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,841, were developed. These metal shafts, in large measure, replaced the wood shafts, particularly in the men's game. The advantage of such construction was that the metal shafts could be mass produced with uniform quality, strength and weight, and were generally stronger than wood shafts.
In lacrosse, hockey or other stick sports, players move and change their hand placement along the shaft to perform different skills. In lacrosse in particular, various combinations of hand placement are a critical part of the game, as it is essential for effective stick handling when cradling, scooping, throwing, or shooting the ball. In addition, when shooting or passing the ball, the player needs to have a firm grip on the shaft in order to maximize the force and torque, which produces a faster shot or pass.
Without a firm grip, a player can often lose control of the shaft and the shaft can slip in a player's grasp. This is particularly true given playing and weather conditions such as fatigue, perspiration, cold and hot temperatures, and/or wet weather. In addition, men's lacrosse and ice hockey require the players to use gloves that protect the hands but which reduce the player's feel and grip on the shaft.
Typically, manufacturers design handles for sports shafts that require variable hand placement without a grip as it makes the manufacturing process easier. To improve grip, players often use athletic tape on their shafts in locations that coincide with their hand placement in order to improve stick control, produce faster shots, serve as a tactile cue for hand placement when stick handling, and accommodate their individual playing style and preference.
Although these tape alterations may improve grip, it is difficult to build shapes out of the tape that complement hand placement. Furthermore, a tape rarely adheres well to the shaft and is susceptible to peeling and wearing off over time. Thus, players must constantly remove and replace the tape. Moreover, if the lacrosse shaft breaks, then the player must re-tape and re-customize his or her new shaft to try to replicate the grip design from the broken shaft.
Other efforts to provide improved grip and control of sticks or handles include separate sports grips applied over a straight shaft. U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,079 to Tucker, Sr., for example, teaches a variable hand placement sports equipment shaft or handle, such as a lacrosse stick, that includes a shaft and at least one overlay attached to the shaft at a location of frequent hand placement that contains ribs, grooves, hourglass and conical shapes. The overlays are preferably made of a material that is soft, pliable, deformable and tacky so as to provide the player with a better grip on the handle. Similar overlays are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,355 to Schulten, U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,270 to Smith, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,868 to Ward.
Other modifications on Lacrosse shafts have also been developed for improved handling. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publications 2005/0130759 and 2005/0130773, both to Hayden et al., teach lacrosse sticks with an improved grip and feel due to expanded portions and contoured locations for users' hand(s). An inward tapered portion and expanded portion allegedly assist a player in controlling the shaft, cradling a ball, passing and shooting. Hayden et al. further disclose an outer surface of the shaft coated with a gripable material to improve the overall grip and feel characteristics of the shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,031,161 to Hamel discloses bulbous portions adapted to more comfortably fit the shape of the human hand and grooves to provide inter-engaging portions into which a hand becomes partially molded. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0087395 to Manory discloses a hockey stick shaft having a concave/sided oval cross-sectional configuration. U.S. Design Pat. D475,425 S shows a cricket bat with a contoured handle, which may accommodate finger gripping. Other types of contoured shafts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,528 to Duplin, U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,730 to Brine, Jr. et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,918 to Lewis, Jr.
Although conventional Lacrosse sticks include features for accommodating players hand positions, there is therefore a need to further improve various performances for Lacrosse sticks such as optimized control of the shaft, increased shaft strength, more desirable tactile features, and higher flexibility. It is also desirable to provide Lacrosse sticks having improved grip, leverage, and torque for improved shot speed.